After the failure to win the 2022 T20 World Cup, Team India will be under pressure to win the next year’s World Cup. The 50-over event will be happening in India. The men in blue have not won an ICC event for a while now. In the last three editions, the host nation has won the ODI World Cup. Therefore, all eyes will be on Team India. However, there are quite a few issues to fix for the management. Here, we take a look at two spots India needs to fix in ODI Cricket before the 2023 World Cup.
1) Wicket-keeper – An important slot to fill before the 2023 ODI World Cup
When MS Dhoni was at the end of his career, Team India had issues with regard to finding his replacement. However, the likes of Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan emerged. Hence, it appeared that the issue was sorted. That said, the problem is back to haunt the team again.
While Pant has been in poor form with the bat, Ishan Kishan is not yet experienced in the ODI format. Sanju Samson, on the other hand, is not getting a lot of chances. Against Bangladesh in the first ODI, it was KL Rahul who kept the wickets for the team. The Karnataka cricketer has done this job before, as well. Therefore, amongst the multiple options, Rahul Dravid and co. must find the most suitable candidate for this role.
🚨 UPDATE
In consultation with the BCCI Medical Team, Rishabh Pant has been released from the ODI squad. He will join the team ahead of the Test series. No replacement has been sought
Axar Patel was not available for selection for the first ODI.#TeamIndia | #BANvIND
Advertisement— BCCI (@BCCI) December 4, 2022
2) Opener alongside Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma has his spot confirmed as one of the openers. He is the skipper of the squad and he is naturally good in ODIs. However, it is the role of his partner that is not yet convincing.
Shikhar Dhawan is the first choice but the southpaw has not been in great form recently. Moreover, his strike rate has dropped and with Rohit also facing similar issues, India cannot afford this in the top order. Some of the options include Shubman Gill and even the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rishabh Pant. It needs to be seen how India would choose this spot.
